QUO VADIS, LUCIUS?
by Ragna Katharina
Summary: Post "Last Knight" Story. Natalie wakes up....on the Via Appia
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: If this story is bearable so it is entirely to the credit of my nice and patient proof readers Heather-Anne Gillis and Ivy (LPRaven).  
  
There is some Latin in this story and I will add the translations at the end of the story in a single posting so anyone who is interested might look it up. My own Latin is very limited and extremely rusty. So I cannot guarantee its correctness.   
  
Ohh, please... if someone is interested at putting this story up anywhere, please notify me.   
  
I would love any comments if you do not entirely rip me apart :) My e mail address is iejasu@fan-fiction.de  
  
Greetings from Germany   
  
Iejasu  
  
  
Quo Vadis, Lucius?  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Lacroix was in a lousy mood. His son had vanished after assaulting that mortal girlfriend of his and had left him with the mess. As always, Nicolas had been far too hasty, his own predicaments and his selfish nature forcing him to believe Dr. Lambert dead. Lacroix was forced to get her to the hospital instead of pursuing his son. Not that he valued her life any more than that of any other mortal, but if Nicolas was ever to return, it would be to his advantage to present Nicolas with a living and breathing   
Natalie Lambert instead of a grave.  
  
So he found himself in the middle of the night in an ER, giving   
them instructions about her blood type so that they could give her the treatment she required in the most swift and efficient manner possible.  
  
After persuading the personnel not to remember him or anything   
about the person who brought her into the hospital, he went home.  
  
Nicholas had shut himself off completely. Lacroix had never   
thought Nicholas capable of doing that, but obviously he was wrong. The only thing he could feel was that Nicholas was still alive.   
  
One thing eased the worries of the old general. Nicolas was a Catholic. The Catholic Church forbade suicide. That was why Nicolas had asked Lacroix   
to kill him.  
  
Even now Nicholas would not walk into the sun or seeking refuge   
in other disgusting activities like staking himself , etc.  
  
  
The sun was about to rise as he went into bed.  
  
  
Lucien woke up instantly. This insolent cock. How dare he disturb   
his sleep? He opened his eyes and shut them instantly, rolling instinctively out of his bed to hide from those burning rays of the sun. Suddenly he blinked. Laying on the floor, he still felt the warmth   
of the sun but not the pain. The sun was not burning him, but   
instead he felt warm and comfortable. Slowly he rose to his feet. Where was he? This was a sunlit room, but it   
looked familiar. He went to a chest and opened it ... His armor! No, that was not the armor of a general but a mere Legatus. He looked down. Obviously   
he was a bit lighter build than the recalled. He looked at his hands and his arms. Those where the arms and hands of a much younger man.   
  
He heard voices outside...  
  
'Lydia! Come inside. You have to help me with the Waving.'  
  
'Lydia?'   
  
He went to the window and saw a young blonde woman rushing obediently inside.  
  
His sister? But she died in 69 under the reign of Nero. Confused,   
he pinched himself to wake up but gained nothing but a blue spot on his calf.  
  
Suddenly he realized that he was not only hearing Latin, he was   
again thinking in Latin, too!  
  
He shook his head in disgust. This was the weirdest dream he had   
ever encountered.  
  
  
  
Natalie woke up on a road. Nice cobblestones, almost shining   
after the storm. The air smelled fresh from the fallen rain. In fact, it smelled almost alive. So much different from the city smell she was used to breathing in.   
  
She had no clue as to how she ended up on this road, but she felt   
fine...almost like in a dream state. Some birds sang in the distance, and the sun was warm and welcoming.  
  
Natalie was so lost in her own universe that she did not hear the   
noises that suddenly came from behind...a kind of clapping...  
  
Suddenly she was swept out of her dreams... A horse shrieked and   
a man fought to control his mare...  
  
"MOVI!!! "  
  
Natalie jumped off the road and her eyes widened in amazement   
when she saw a chariot passing her high speed .... with a Roman soldier in full armor on it!!!  
  
"This is most certainly a very weird trick... somebody is   
probably playing a damn lousy joke... Nick!!! Come out at once....!!"  
  
Suddenly she was caught up by vertigo. She had to sit next to the   
road and hold her head. What had happened ? She recalled Nick holding her, promising to join her, feeling his breath on her neck...the sharp sting of his teeth. The sudden realization that he was unable to control himself....  
  
A small wagon with a bull pulling it came along the road. The   
woman sitting on it looked at her and stopped.  
  
Natalie felt the young woman bending down and asking her   
something, but she was too upset to listen, far too confused.   
  
The woman gave her something to drink out of a water pouch and   
tried to smooth her with words. Indeed, Natalie slowly calmed down.  
  
She looked up at the young woman and tried a small smile.  
  
She had had Latin in med school and she still remembered some   
bits. The young woman asked for her name.  
  
"Natalie..." she said and pointed on herself.  
  
"Ahhh. " The young woman smiled and pointed on her chest. " Sabina."  
  
Natalie grinned and mumbled to herself.... "All ways lead to   
Rome...then this should be the Via Appia."  
  
And Sabina confirmed : "Via Appia!"  
  
An hour later Natalie sat on the wagon and rode along the bumpy   
cobblestone road...She still tried to tell herself that she was dreaming. But everything was so real. It smelled real. She pinched herself in the arm and discovered that it did hurt...She was riding the Via Appia on her way to Rome.  
  
  
Lucius burped loudly. It was not the nicest of behaviors, but he   
had not eaten that much in ages. He had not eaten ANYTHING in ages....  
  
'My, My.... Lucius. You certainly developed an appetite.'   
  
He nodded and took another grape.  
  
'Yes, Mother.'  
  
'Don't be so uncommunicative, Lucius. What is on your mind? I   
always know when your mind is occupied with other things. Yesterday when you came home, you were so tired you could hardly stand and today, instead of telling us about your latest adventures, you sit here and eat like a barbarian.'  
  
Lucius desperately tried to recall what had happened on that   
particular trip...and failed miserably. His perfect memory was gone, together with is vampiric nature. But he found enough stories in his mind to entertain his mother and his sister.  
  
  
He looked at his sister. She was unusually silent, and seemed   
absent-minded. Now he recalled why she had died so long ago. Had it already started to infect her? Had she already met those strange men?  
  
He bent over towards the young woman and inquired softly.  
  
'Lydia. Is there something you would like to tell me, little sister?'  
  
She looked at him as if she suddenly had woken up.  
  
'Lucius... No, certainly not. Everything is fine...just wonderful   
and perfect.'  
  
Lucius shook his head. He was worried. This was certainly a cruel   
dream. Pleasant in some ways, painful in others.  
  
He decided it was not his business. It had happened long ago.  
  
  
It felt nice to wear a toga again. He wandered though the streets   
and listened to the merchants and watched the people go about their business.   
  
Rome was certainly an impressive city, even before it burned down.  
  
It was certainly a bit smelly, but he soon grew accustomed to the   
smell. It felt good to be home, even if it was only a weird dream.  
  
He was just talking to an old childhood friend who now served in   
the praetorian guard of Nero when his eyes fell on a wagon coming through the gate.  
  
He stood there, transfixed.  
  
On the wagon was sitting a certain tasty coroner, looking around   
with wide eyes.He noted with a slight surprise that the usual itching in his   
teeth was replaced by a certain itching in an entirely different place.  
  
'Gaius, would you do me the favor and check this wagon? I would   
like to take a closer look at that woman.'  
  
Gaius laughed.   
  
'Lucius, I swear that it will not be a Gaul that kills you one   
day but an angry husband!'  
  
Lucius laughed as Gaius went to stop that wagon.  
  
He strolled seemingly uninterested towards the wagon and looked   
at the slim ankle.  
  
'POST NUBILA DIANA!' He smiled up at the distracted woman.  
  
She instantly looked down, and it was quite obvious that she did   
not understand.  
  
The woman next to Natalie giggled slightly and blushed. She did   
understand the remark.But obviously she tried to protect Natalie and answered in her place.  
'QUOD LICET IOVI, NON LICET BOVI!'  
  
He laughed at her biting remark. He was certainly no ox.  
  
Natalie stared at the young Roman grinning at her. He looked   
familiar, very familiar, but she could not recall where she had met him before. He had stunning blue eyes and a smooth, sunburned face. His muscles were well-defined, and he looked definitely handsome.  
  
He looked up and saw that Dr. Lambert obviously tried to put him   
somewhere....but was not quite successful. He decided to assist her.  
  
'QUID NOVI, NATALIE ?'  
  
She looked closer and suddenly gasped.  
  
'Lacroix!'  
  
He grinned.  
  
'Well, well, my dear Dr. Lambert, it took you quite a while to   
recognize me. I should be hurt.'  
  
'What are you doing in my dream?'  
  
'I hate to sound overbearing, my dear Dr. Lambert, but I have to   
insist that it is my dream you are invading.' He replied with a smooth voice.  
  
'Since when did you ever consider arrogance nothing but a virtue?'  
  
'Oh, my dear Doctor, you can be so amusing.'  
  
The woman next to Natalie looked interested and noted something,   
and Lacroix replied evenly.  
  
'What did you say?'  
  
'My dear doctor, is that a hint of curiosity I detect?' He teased   
her amiably. 'Your friend here inquired if we know each other, and I replied that we have met and that you are coming from a far-away province I went to with the army.'  
  
She obviously tried to summon her wit and replied in an equally   
friendly manner.  
  
'Well, Lacroix, it was certainly 'nice' to meet you, but I would   
prefer to dream on my own. So if you would excuse me.'  
  
'Very well, my dear. I shall obey. If you need me, just ask one   
of the praetorian guards for the house of Lucius Seianus.'  
  
He knew that every praetorian knew the house of Seianus. The   
'fame' of his grandfather as head of the praetorian guards had made sure of it and had prevented him or any other male offspring of his family from ever becoming a member of the praetorian guards. It was pure luck and some good connections that his family still existed at all and had not been ordered to commit suicide. 


	2. Chapter 2

Quo Vadis, Lucius?  
  
by Iejasu  
  
  
  
Chapter 2  
  
  
Weeks passed and Natalie's Latin improved considerably. She lived   
with Sabina and her family, merchants coming from Judea, and was slowly getting used   
to the different lifestyle. She helped with the daily work and followed her   
profession as a healer. It was fascinating to witness those ancient times.  
  
But she observed something very strange. Sabina and her friends   
often went away during the evenings. She had seen them going in the middle  
of the night and coming back hours later, chatting in their native tongue,   
Aramaic, which was a dialect of Hebrew.   
  
She decided it was not her business because those people were   
kind to her and did not deserve being spied upon.  
  
Natalie was filling some wine from 'amphorae' into smaller   
'ampulla' when an older man entered the yard. He was obviously no Roman -- he dressed   
differently and was wearing a beard.   
  
'What can I do for you?' Natalie inquired amicably.  
  
'Is this the house of Sabina of Hebron?' the man asked her in a warm and friendly   
manner. He had kind eyes and was radiating something that Natalie would have   
described as being fulfilled or simply totally content with life itself.   
And he had a strong charisma.  
  
'Yes, this is the house of the Hebron merchant guild. May I ask whom I shall announce?'  
  
'My name is Paulus. I am a friend of the family.'  
  
Natalie smiled. 'Yes, I thought you were not Roman. Where do you come from?'  
  
She was happy to get away from refilling the amphorae. Her back had started to hurt.  
  
'You will not know the place. I come from Asia Minor. Tarsus, to be exact.'  
  
Natalie blinked for a couple of seconds. Paulus? Of Tarsus? THE Paulus of Tarsus?  
  
She swore inwardly that she had always slept during religion classes.   
  
Natalie decided to be bold....'Paulus of Tarsus?.... Are you a teacher?'  
  
The man chuckled slightly as if he found the question amusing.  
  
'Yes, yes, my child. You might say so. I am a teacher....I teach philosophy.'  
  
Natalie gulped. Suddenly the young coroner understood a lot more.   
She understood why her friends left in the middle of the night and why they acted   
occasionally very strange. Christians...this was an early Christian community. She   
grinned slightly. She knew another secret community and she was quite sure there   
were some similarities.  
  
***  
  
  
Lucius held his head and moaned. This was certainly no fun. He   
had the most annoying hangover in the last 2 millennia. Last night he   
was out with his friends and had roamed though the taverns next to the Tiber   
and the last ampulla of wine must have gone bad.He chuckled slightly,   
despite of the nauseous feeling he had in his stomach.  
  
'Lucius, may I talk to you?' His mother was standing on the threshold of his room.   
She had a worried look on her face.  
  
'Certainly, dear mother. What is it you would like to discuss?'  
  
'Lucius, since your father died when you were quite young, you were head of the family,   
and so it is now your duty to look out for your sister.'  
  
'What is wrong with Lydia?' He had the faint feeling this discussion happened a long   
time ago.  
  
'I discovered that she was out last night. She came back shortly   
before sunrise. I am worried. It is not proper for a young Roman woman   
to leave the house without proper attendance. And if somebody discovers   
what she is doing, our family will be shamed.'  
  
He nodded slowly.  
  
'I will look into that matter, Mother. Do not worry. She will not leave the house again.'  
  
'Thank you, Lucius. It is good that you are home again.'  
  
This time he would proceed in a more cautious manner.He went straight to the room   
of his little sister but reminded himself not to lose his temper.  
  
***  
  
  
'Lydia, I need to talk to you.' He tried approaching her as if   
she would be Janette.Politeness was a far better weapon than aggressive outbursts.  
  
He stood in the doorway and looked at her as the servants did her morning makeup.  
  
Lydia released the servants with a wave of her hand.  
  
Only calm on the outside, he waited until the servants had left   
the room. He knew they were neither blind nor deaf. It was not necessary   
to give them more to gossip about.  
  
He made sure nobody was near, only then did he sit next to his sister and look at her.   
  
She smiled at him, and he could not help himself and smiled back.  
'Lucius, somehow I have the feeling you have changed. Your eyes have changed.'  
  
Absent-mindedly he brushed a lock of her blond hair into place. She was beautiful.  
  
'What makes you think that, little sister?'   
She smelled of lilies and roses. He realized that his sense of   
smell had decreased; he could not smell her blood, but he also felt no unease in the   
close proximity of a human, no pang of bloodlust always fighting his control like a caged   
animal fighting the bars of its dungeon.  
  
'Your eyes are so sad and angry.'  
  
It was hard not to react to the innocent blue of her eyes. A rush   
of brotherly affection flashed though him. His little baby sister.   
He embraced her instinctively.  
  
'Don't worry about me, Lydia. I am fine...I will always be fine.'  
  
'But every night you are going away with your friends, coming   
home when the sun is almost up again. You seem to lunge at life, but it runs though   
your fingers like the water in an Egyptian water-clock.'  
  
This little one definitely saw too much.   
He recalled why he was here and that sobered him considerably.  
'You were out last night.'  
  
'How do you know, Lucius? You were out last night, too.'  
  
He felt her defiance and in a way, he understood it. The   
difference between what a man was allowed and what was appropriate for a   
woman was vast. But this was the past, and he had no intention of reforming it.  
  
'Mother saw you leaving the house.'  
  
Lydia looked down.  
  
He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes, hoping what he asked   
now would be the truth. It would be so much easier.  
  
'Is it a man you visit? Do you have a lover?'  
  
She blushed instantly. 'Oh, no! Lucius!'  
  
He witnessed her embarrassment but continued.  
'Lydia, you know it is not proper for a young woman to know a man   
until she is married. The wenches in the tavern may do such a thing,   
but you are from a noble family. You may not disgrace yourself or your family.'  
  
She put a hand on his arm and looked into his eyes.  
'Lucius, I would never disgrace our family or our house.'  
  
'Do you promise not to leave the house again without proper   
company? You may take Severinus as a bodyguard.'  
  
'Severinus...' She seemed upset. Obviously she was not very happy   
about his request. The course of events that had led to her death were already   
happening.His throat tightened in pain and helplessness.Lucius grabbed both her   
shoulders and shook her.  
  
'You will not leave the house again!' he announced, growling.   
He would not allow her death, not now, not again!  
  
'Lucius! You are hurting me!'  
  
Lucius released his firm grip on her arms and with one fluid   
motion was standing near the doorway.  
  
'I am sorry. I did not mean to hurt you, but my word remains. You   
will not leave this house again without my consent. I will not allow it.'  
  
She rubbed her upper arms and nodded obediently.   
  
'Yes, brother. I promise.'  
  
He nodded and tried to cheer up but succeeded only on the   
outside. Lucius desperately hoped that she would obey. But he was not sure.  
  
'Good, little sister. I am glad we understand each other,' he replied curtly.  
  
The following night he stood guard and was relieved when Lydia   
seemed to do as she had promised. Nothing entered the house and nobody went out.  
  
***  
  
  
Natalie was beaming in joy. This was so interesting, even if it   
was only a dream. She had started reminding herself continuously because   
ever so slightly she tended to forget that it was nothing more than a dream.  
  
The coroner had convinced Sabina that she was trustworthy and was   
allowed to join her newfound friend when she went to the meeting.  
Natalie desperately hoped that her Latin had improved enough to understand   
what Paulus was going to preach. But the mere thought of actually standing   
there, witnessing such a secret meeting, was something historians dreamt about.  
  
The secret meeting place was somewhere next to the Tiber, hidden   
between the exit of a sewer and the roof of a bridge covering them from   
suspicious eyes. She watched more and more people come in silence and   
approach Paulus, talking to him, seeking his advice or simply requesting his   
blessing. The torches reflected on the black water. She knew   
that there were guards posted by the community to look out for any intrusion.  
  
Natalie sat on a stone and watched the scene.  
  
The majority of guests were of poor origin, but not all of them.   
A young blond woman caught her attention. Blond was not a usual hair   
color for a Roman if she was not wearing a wig. But her hair was blond by nature,   
not by the help of some skilled Roman hairdresser. And it was also obvious that   
she was not a slave or a barbarian....  
  
Paulus started to pray....  
  
'PATER NOSTER QUI IN CAELIS ES SANCTIFICETUR NOMEN TUUM.  
VENIAT REGNUM TUUM FIAT VOLUNTAS TUA SICUT IN CAELO ET IN TERRA.  
PANEM NOSTRUM SUPERSUBSTANTIALEM DA NOBIS HODIE ET DIMITTE NOBIS   
DEBITA NOSTRA SICUT ET NOS DIMIDUS DEBITORIBUS NOSTRIS ET NE INDUCAS NOS   
IN TEMPTATIONEM SED LIBERA NOS A MALO.. ' 


	3. Chapter 3

QUO VADIS, LUCIUS?  
  
by Iejasu  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
  
  
Lucius came home in the middle of the night. He had been drinking too much, as always.   
Gaius had put up a bet but it was Lucius who gained the prize. The girl certainly did   
not complain. He smiled at the thought.   
  
His mother approached him as soon as the servant opened the door.'Lucius, Lydia is gone, again!'  
  
He drew in a deep breath and tried to clear his thoughts from the   
influence of the wine.'I told her to stay at home.' he growled.  
  
'That did not keep her from sneaking out tonight.' his mother replied dryly, her hands   
on her hips. Any observer would have seen the strong similarity between mother and son.   
  
'Yes...obviously it did not.' The undertone of his voice promised nothing nice.  
  
Without another word, he turned around to look for his sister.  
  
Inwardly he swore viciously. Where could he find her? Where did   
those Christians meet?He knew an Armenian trader who was a good source of information   
if the price was correct, and he went to the lower part of the town to seek him out.  
  
***  
  
  
When he stepped out of the nondescript building, he had the information he required. It   
had cost him a considerable sum and quite a bit of intimidation, but that was something   
he was really good at. 2000 years of practice was not easy to withstand.  
  
He got down to the river in one of the poorest parts of Rome. It smelled viciously, and he   
wrinkled his nose in disgust. This was certainly no place for his sister. He could not   
imagine her in such surroundings, did not want to. He drew the cloak tighter around him as if it could protect him   
from those vile scents. Carefully he approached the area, aware that the Christians would   
post guards if they were intelligent enough to survive. And that they actually did   
survive was something he had already learned from history.  
  
This was a dream? Or was it not? During the last few weeks he sometimes wished it was   
a dream, and sometimes he asked himself what was real and what was not. Maybe his life   
as a vampire, those 2000 lonely years despite the company of his children, was nothing   
more than the nightmare of a tired Roman Legatus coming home from a long campaign.  
  
But he still remembered the future! Physics, medicine, literature, music. Had he dreamt   
that too? Had he dreamt that humanity sank down to barbarism after the fall of the   
Roman Empire only to claw itself up again during the middle ages until the Renaissance   
and the early Industrial Revolution?Had he dreamt that humanity fell again into vileness with the   
rise of the Third Reich? Humanity? Why was he suddenly so interested in humanity? Was it   
because he breathed again, ate their food, felt their weaknesses? Would someone   
bothered to ask him, he would have never thought that Christianity could have survived   
the first century after the death of their leader, this carpenter from Judea. Or was it Samaria? He had never   
bothered enough to check this out. He knew those Roman provinces, but most of the   
time he was in Gaul, the exact opposite end of the Roman Empire. But those people   
believed in that carpenter. Said he was the Son of God. But Hercules   
was also the son of a god, so were the pharaohs of Egypt. Still, nobody made that much   
fuss about them. At least not in the same way. Not in this frightening way.  
  
He sat crouched in a hidden niche, as he contemplated these matters, watching a young   
man who obviously guarded this road.  
  
  
Christians. Bah! They claimed to be good, full of virtue. But he had seen the same   
Christians slaughter themselves in a way a vampire would feel beneath him.  
  
Their cross burned his flesh, their holy water was like acid to him.   
But so was the Hieroglyph of Ra or the Statue of Isis, or the Ankh, for that matter.  
  
But not now. He could and he would go there and drag his sister   
out. With or without her consent, he would bring her home, and even if he had to lock her   
into her room, he would make sure that those lunatics did not influence Lydia any further.  
  
'If they try, I will hunt down and kill every Christian in Rome and anywhere in the empire   
until Christianity will be nothing but a faint memory about some obscure cult,' he thought.  
  
Suddenly he saw Lydia. She was walking past his hiding place with   
some friends. The wine, he had had earlier that evening did the rest.   
Ignorant to his own safety, he jumped out of his shelter and stalked towards her.  
  
'Lydia! What are you doing here? I will not allow you to ......'  
  
Lydia shrieked in surprise and shock.  
  
She had never seen her brother so angry. His voice was nothing more than a hoarse cry of   
anger, and his eyes had grown hard and blazing in cold fire. Their blue was piercing.  
He grabbed her by her arms, eager to use brute force to bring her home with him.   
  
Suddenly everything went dark around Lucius Seianus.  
  
Natalie saw the incident from the distance. She recognized Lacroix's voice instantly.  
That roar was something none easily forgot. As she approached the small group, she saw   
the women huddling together to protect themselves.  
  
She looked down at Lucien Lacroix, well, Lucius Seianus, she corrected herself. Natalie   
had seen him angry before -- it was not a pleasant sight, but even in the flash of anger,   
Lacroix always retained a cold and hard center. He would have never lost his cool guard   
in such a way. But there he lay, at her feet, a nasty cut on his head where a club had   
graced his skull.  
  
The young blond woman cried silently.  
  
Natalie looked from the young woman to Lucius. Was he her husband? Or her lover. She   
shivered slightly at the mere thought. It was like taking a crocodile into a bathtub.  
  
She approached the small group.'You can go to safety. I am a healer. I will see to it that he is returned home.'  
  
The young blonde looked up at her - she was petite.'Please, don't hurt him. Lucius means well. He is my brother.'  
  
Natalie looked at her with surprise. Lacroix had a sister? 'Well, don't worry. I know him.' she mumbled and sent them away.  
  
Sabina watched her with curiosity.'That is the man from the gate. The soldier. Is he not?'  
  
'Yes,' Natalie confirmed tight - lipped.  
  
'Is he your friend?' Sabina tried to get a confirmation that Natalie was save.  
  
'Well, I would not exactly call him a friend, but he is an old acquaintance.'   
Natalie chuckled slightly at the phrase.  
  
'Shall I help you?'  
  
'No, please leave. It is safer for you to stay covered. I will bring him home.'  
  
Natalie was in a way grateful that there was something she could do to thank Sabina and   
her community for their kindness.  
  
Sabina nodded and left into the darkness.  
  
***  
  
There was a small well nearby, and Natalie took her rica off, using the wet cloth on his   
bruised head.  
  
She heard him moaning and viciously swearing as he regained consciousness.   
  
'My, my...we are in a mood today.' Natalie could not resist teasing him slightly.  
  
He turned on his back and eyed her.'Your Latin has certainly improved if you   
understood what I just said.' He replied in English. Natalie was somehow grateful   
to hear her native tongue again.  
  
'My Latin improved but your skills as a predator obviously decreased,' she countered dryly.  
  
He sat up and moaned again.'I suppose I had too much wine tonight. I was not thinking clearly.'  
  
She grinned. The scent of wine was grazing her nose.  
'So you indulged yourself in some mortal fashion? I am shocked.'  
  
He grinned up at her and rubbed his head. Natalie witnessed a rare display of humor.   
'My dear Doctor, nothing can shock you since you made the acquaintance of my son, I   
am quite sure.' He suddenly realized what had happened. Lucius jumped up and   
instantly felt nauseous. 'Lydia! Where is my sister?!'  
  
'Gone. She went with her friends.' Natalie had no clue of where Lydia went and she did   
not intend to tell Lacroix anything, even if she would have known it.  
  
'Why did you let her go?' He tried standing, supported by the small well.  
  
'She is a grown up woman. She can go where she wants.'  
  
He looked at Natalie with clear anger.'She is a WOMAN, and women never know what they want!'  
  
'Lacroix, stop talking like a caveman. You are living in the 20th century.'  
  
'This is Rome, and here you have to live like the Romans!' he countered.  
  
'Well, Lacroix, it is better if you go home now. You will not find her today. Not in this   
condition anyway.'  
  
He moaned again, remembering his aching skull.  
  
She saw that he was still a bit unsteady on his feet. 'Shall I give you a hand...'  
  
His head turned around like the head of a cobra and he sneered at her.  
'I do not depend on your generosity, Dr. Lambert.' This was certainly the Lacroix   
Natalie had learned to 'love'......   
  
Dr. Lambert could do nothing but sigh as she noticed him   
stumbling after this swift movement.  
  
'I would diagnose a concussion. You better shut up and let me help.'  
  
This time he remained silent as she put her arm around his waist, giving him support. 


	4. Chapter 4

QUO VADIS, LUCIUS?  
  
by Iejasu  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
  
Lucius made her stop for a moment.'No, not this way... we go though the back yard.   
I do not wish to upset my mother any further.'  
  
Natalie stared at him in complete surprise.'Your MOTHER??'  
  
'Yea...' he replied dryly. 'You probably imagine that I was born from a rattlesnake but I   
assure you, I did, I do ... well, my mother existed.'  
  
They silently sneaked though the backyard and into his rooms.  
  
'Hmm, am I imagining things, or are you sneaking into the house on a regular basis?'  
  
He chuckled softly in the dark until he found a flint stone lighter and lit an oil lamp.  
While he worked on getting some light, she heard him silently swear about the lack of   
electric illumination. He finally succeeded in lighting the room, sat down on his bed and   
grinned at her in a way that made Natalie feel uneasy.  
'My dear doctor Lambert, to which whim of fortune do I owe the dept of gratitude that you   
have pity on an old and wounded ex - vampire ?' His voice dripped with sarcasm.  
  
Natalie gave him a very frosty glance and shrugged her shoulders.  
'I normally attend to corpses, but I will extend my courtesy even to someone like ... you,'   
she bit back. After this parry she got some linen and water and cleaned his head wound.  
'I hardly doubt I would have thought twice about it if you still were a vampire. I would   
had let you fry in the morning sun!' she continued.  
  
He bent towards her and purred into her ear, 'Would you have roasted marshmallows on   
my smoldering form?'  
  
Instantly Natalie regained some distance, but she could not help but laugh at this   
ridiculous idea. This was certainly wicked, but it was also definitely Lacroixian. He   
seemed to be able to extend his 'humor' even upon his own persona.  
  
'This is certainly a nasty bruise. You should lay down for a couple of days,' she continued.  
  
'I do like to think you are jesting, but your face tells me otherwise.'  
  
'Well, Lacroix, you are human in this dream,' Natalie stated flatly.  
  
He touched his head again and sighed. 'There are conditions attached to the bargain of mortality that I   
certainly do not appreciate,' he commented while she cleaned his cut.  
  
It was still night, and Natalie did not find the thought of walking alone, without male   
protection entertaining.  
  
Lucius read her thoughts correctly.  
  
'I suppose you are stuck in my bedroom for the night.' He had the most malicious grin   
on his face. The thought did definitely improve his mood. To tease this coroner was   
something he enjoyed far too much even for his own taste. She had the backbone to fight   
back, she was intelligent and would allow nobody to intimidate her, not even him.  
  
And she did not disappoint him.'I just wonder how your voice would sound if you should be forced   
to talk 2 octaves higher in the future ahead of you....' She returned his malicious   
grin with equal force while she cleaned his head wound. She used the cloth more roughly   
on his bruise to make a point.  
  
Lucius laughed loud and without malice.  
  
'My dear doctor, I was certainly not implying anything improper. You must be imagining   
things. But maybe you would accept my invitation. We could ... talk.'  
  
Talk to Lucien Lacroix? He was certainly a very gifted conversationalist. Indeed she had   
enjoyed talking to him at the Azure until that evening had become nasty. He was   
educated, had splendid manners and an air of confidence around him that few man possessed.   
  
She pressed him down, ignoring the glitter in his eyes as she did so, and told him to lay still.  
  
'We may talk, but you will stay in bed.'   
  
'I will do as the physician requests.' This annoying smile had never left his face.... that   
strange predator smile... Had she made a mistake accepting his invitation?   
Natalie Lambert was not sure.  
  
She took a chair and set next to him.  
  
'What would you like to discuss, Dr. Lambert? Any particular subject you have in mind?'   
Lacroix requested.  
  
'How about Nicholas?'  
  
'Ahh, Nicholas! Yes, Nicholas is always the center of everyone's attention, is he not?'  
  
'Well, I would like to know what had happened. I mean ...'  
  
'You mean the last thing you remember is that he embraced you in what is called 'a vampire's kiss'?'  
  
'Exactly.' She tried to display an indifferent attitude, at least on the outside. It was never   
wise to show weaknesses in front of this ancient vampire.  
  
Lucius stared at the ceiling.  
  
'Well, Dr. Lambert.... As you should already know, Nicholas is a man who starves himself   
until he is beyond control. Anybody's control. He drained you to a very dangerous level...'  
  
'Am I dead?' she heard her voice quietly ask.  
  
'No, you are quite alive, I assure you.'  
  
'Where is Nicholas?'  
  
Lacroix laughed.  
  
'How many times have I answered that question? Nicholas is away. Unquestionably he   
drowns himself in pity. I have seen him doing that so many times, I grew tired of it.'  
  
'You did?'Natalie had the feeling that she would hear an entirely different   
story than she was used to from Nick.  
  
'Dr. Lambert, I warned you. Nicholas is a very biased personality. He was brought up in   
the Middle Ages. Those were barbaric times. To him a woman can   
be either saint or whore, nothing exists for him between those two conditions. He   
cherished you as a saint, a healer who would cure his forsaken condition. But when you   
turned out to be nothing more than a mere woman, with feelings, offering yourself to his   
dark needs, you instantly became the other kind of female and his subconscious made him   
lose his restrictions.'  
  
Natalie frowned at his words.  
  
'Nicholas loves me. He is only shy.'  
  
Lacroix laughed.  
  
'My dear Doctor, certainly he loved you! You have not witnessed   
the Middle Ages. Knights would have died for a scarf of their cherished   
noblewoman. A bard would sit at the feet of his lady, glad to compose hymns to her beauty and   
virtue. But he would never touch her. This was also part of the deal. But in the same period, a woman was regarded   
lower than dust, the evil seductress, who brought sin upon mankind in the garden of Eden.'  
  
Natalie had realized that he had used the word 'love' in the past.  
  
'You mean I lost him the moment I became flesh and blood.'  
  
He could not help himself but smile at that phrase.  
  
'Yes, indeed, my dear. The moment you became flesh and BLOOD.   
Also, Nicholas is a very self-centered being. He believes that everything centers   
around him, everything is done because of him. He cannot help himself. I should probably   
claim some of the blame because I spoiled him.'  
  
'But what about you? You are driving him to what he is doing!!'  
  
He turned his face towards Dr. Lambert. A very unusual expression flashed over his   
features. Was it sorrow?   
  
'Nicholas has told you a lot, but only his point of view.'  
  
Natalie drew in a deep breath and seated herself more comfortably.  
'Then let me hear your point, if you don't mind.'  
  
He pondered her request. Normally he would have never cared to   
discuss his son with a mortal. But now he was mortal, she was mortal, and it did not   
matter -- this was only a weird and extended dream.   
  
'My point of view is simple. He is my son, I am his father. I do not want to see him die.   
Is that so hard to understand? To me, his search for mortality is only prolonged suicide.   
And Nicholas has very suicidal tendencies, you should have realized. He toys with his life   
in hope for death. But he believes that suicide is a sin that would put salvation out of his   
reach forever. He is Catholic. So he tries everything to kill himself by other means.'  
  
'You claim to love him as a father, yet you torment him.'  
  
'Do I torment him or does he torment me? Nicholas staked me 6 years ago, burned me   
badly. Still I fight not to lose him. Tell me, dear Natalie. Who was it that covered up the   
evidence when he was shot in the head? Who healed him?'  
  
Natalie shook her head. She had certainly never thought of it this way.  
  
He saw that she had grown silent and reached out for her hand.  
  
'Nicholas has hurt you more than once. I can see it in your eyes. Still you fight for him,   
try to help him. In a way we are not so different from each other. I also try to protect my son.'  
  
Her skin was smooth and warm. Silently he lifted her hand and brought it to his lips. His   
kiss silently whispered his apprehension of her actions.  
  
She took her hand away swiftly.'Don't try to seduce me. You are not my type. You are a   
puppeteer, and I will not be your puppet!'  
  
'Puppeteer, Puppet. Can you not understand that I am a man, no more, no less? And I   
show my appreciation for a woman who is gifted with intelligence and spirit.'  
  
'I am not a saint, not for you, not for Nick!'  
  
'I do not expect a saint, but you do think of me as the devil,' he stated flatly.  
  
Natalie realized the truth in his words. In everything he did, everything he said, she   
suspected some dark motive. She could not help herself .  
  
He turned towards her and looked into her eyes.  
  
'How about starting all over again, Dr. Lambert. May I introduce myself? My name is   
Lucius Seianus, son of Aurelius Seianus, grandson of Lucius Aelius Seianus, the   
infamous Prefect of the Praetorian Guards, who terminated the heirs of Tiberius and was   
killed 33 years ago.'  
  
She looked at his outstretched hand and put her own hand into his.  
  
'I am Natalie Lambert, medical examiner and daughter of Helen and Peter Lambert.'  
  
He brought her hand to his lips and brushed his lips over her knuckles ever so slightly.  
'I am enchanted, Mademoiselle.' 


	5. Chapter 5

QUO VADIS, LUCIUS?  
  
by Iejasu  
  
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Natalie realized that she had fallen asleep. Lacroix slept  
silently on his bed and somehow she must have joined him during the night while looking  
for a more comfortable position on this forsaken chair.  
  
She rose quickly and tried to smooth out her crumbled dress. Then  
she sat down again, contemplating.  
  
They had talked a lot during the night. She got to know a man who had a lot of  
humor, even though his humor was pitch black. A man with strong feelings for  
his family. She realized that she hoped that this man was indeed the man behind  
Lucien Lacroix, but a part of herself reminded her unyieldingly that this was only a  
figment of her imagination. Maybe her subconscious made up this  
'Lucius Seianus' as the male protective presence she sometimes longed for  
when she was lonely, cradling her cushion during a sleepless night.  
  
She shook her head in disgust at herself.  
  
Natalie saw the man on the bed stir and addressed him. 'Good morning, Lucius.'  
  
'Good morning? Indeed, my dear, you claim that I have a dark sense of humor...  
I could accuse you of having a similar nature.'  
  
She chuckled.  
  
'I have the most aggravating headache, Dr. Lambert.'  
  
'That was to be expected. Maybe you should try to sleep a little longer.'  
  
'First I have to see to the welfare of my guest.'  
  
He tried to get up but she pressed him down onto his cushions. 'I told you: Don't MOVE!'  
She glanced at him with her best 'doctor's order' stare.'  
  
Despite his pain, he smirked. 'My dear Natalie, would you be so kind as to tell Severinus that I  
request a bowl of watered-down red Chianti and some bread, half a cold chicken and  
some peaches for breakfast? Also tell him that the bath should be prepared. I wish to wear a nondescript toga and he shall send.....'  
  
'Wait, wait!' Natalie lifted her hands in submission.  
  
'Yes, my dear. I thought that this task would be a little difficult with just a  
basic knowledge of Latin. So you will understand that I have to give the orders,  
at least for the time being.'  
  
He got up and walked slowly towards the door. Just before he opened it, she  
saw him straightening his back and lifting his chin. Lucius Seianus was just  
as vain as Lucien Lacroix, no doubt about that. Both men would never allow  
others to see their weaknesses.  
  
He opened the door and called for the servant. Obviously he knew that this  
Severinus was nearby.  
  
When he had given out orders, he turned around towards Natalie.  
'Dr. Lambert, Severinus will see that a room is prepared for your needs.  
I trust you are tired and would like to rest. The bath and a fresh dress will  
await you after you have had time resting and dining.'  
  
He looked indeed very much like the master of this household, she realized suddenly.  
  
It was already late afternoon when Natalie was woken up by a young girl.  
She helped her bathe and dress and tended to her hair. Natalie had never  
experienced the way a noble Roman woman lived and had to confess that she  
liked it. She felt spoiled rotten.  
  
'Ah, Natalie, the sight of your beauty would dwarf a goddess.'  
He signaled the girl to leave them alone, taking the liberty to attend on Natalie.  
  
'Has Nicholas ever told you that you are an enchantress, my dear Natalie?'  
  
Natalie felt his breath as he whispered into her ear. She stiffened  
herself against his seductive powers, but her heart started to beat wildly.  
  
'Don't worry, my dear, this is not the seduction of a vampire you feel,  
this is simply the adoration of a man. You do not need to worry.'  
  
Natalie told herself it was time to get out because there was need  
to worry, no matter what he said, but she just sat there as if she were glued  
to the stool. It felt so good to be regarded as a woman and not just as a 'buddy'.  
  
He put a lock of her dark hair into place and pinned it delicately.  
  
'Nicholas is a fool,' he murmured under his breath.  
  
His hands caressed her neck, very much like the vampire he was in real life,  
but he did not feel the hunger. Natalie noticed his sudden silence. She could  
only hear her own heart and her breath that had started to quicken.  
  
She let her head fall against his body and tried to look up in order to see his face.  
She saw a face that beheld a lot of different emotions. He was lost in thought  
and looked so vulnerable.  
  
'What is in your mind, Lucius?' she whispered, not wanting to wake him up  
from his daydream. And indeed, his distant look remained as he answered.  
  
'Your neck is warm, full of life. And I can feel your pulse, but I do not lust after  
your blood. I have forgotten how it is not to constantly hunger, but to rejoice,  
innocent like a child, without thinking of what comes next.'  
  
Instinctively she reached out for his hand and squeezed it for a second.  
This gesture brought him back to his senses, and he remembered why he  
had come to her.  
  
'Natalie, will you help me find my sister?'  
  
She did not know what to say. She understood Lucius, but it was her  
friends she would betray. She could not do that. Also, she had no idea of  
where to find Lydia.  
  
He felt her inner turmoil.  
  
'Your friends are in great danger, so is my sister.'  
  
'Danger? What are you talking about?' Natalie had the feeling that there  
was something she should remember.  
  
'The name of the current emperor is Nero. Did you realize that? Your friends,  
as my sister, will end up in the circus or dying in the gardens of Nero, if we  
don't try to alter their faith.'  
  
Suddenly Natalie remembered. The Christians who became martyrs. The hunt  
for the Christians of Rome! The death of Saint Peter and Paul. She jumped to her feet.  
  
He looked at her with a strange calm. 'So you do realize the danger?'  
  
'You mean that this is what is going to happen?'  
  
'I do not know, but I will not stand by and watch my little sister die on a burning  
cross in the gardens of the emperor. Not again.'  
  
Natalie just stood there and did not know what to say. The image of a human  
being dying such a horrible death was beyond her imagination.  
  
'You saw her dying?'  
  
'Yes, I saw her death. I stood there and watched her burn. Nobody realized  
that this nameless Christian girl was my sister, and I was too much a coward  
to destroy my own future for the sake of my baby sister. I might have ended on   
the cross myself.'  
  
She saw his eyes glittering with moisture.  
  
'You never forgave yourself,' Natalie realized.  
  
'How could I? Maybe this is one of the reasons I am so ... overprotective  
now. I know how it is to feel remorse that eats you up alive from the inside.  
Maybe this is only a dream and we are the dreamers. But, great Jupiter,  
if this is a dream, I want to dream that my sister lived.'  
  
Natalie shivered slightly at his outburst. 'I will do what I can to help,' she promised. 


	6. Chapter 6

QUO VADIS, LUCIUS?   
  
by Iejasu  
  
  
Chapter 6  
  
When Natalie saw Lucius stalking out of the room, his feelings in  
check again, she sighed inwardly.  
  
This certainly explained a lot. To witness such a death of a beloved one and  
feeling remorse over it for almost 2000 years, that was a new definition of the  
proverb 'hell on earth'. No wonder he could not let go.  
  
She followed him and was greeted by an elderly lady with an elegant but not  
overdressed appearance. She did not understand much, but the woman was  
without doubt Lucius' mother. They had the same color of eyes, skin and  
hair. Very unusual for a Roman to have striking blue eyes and pale golden  
skin, she mused.  
  
They had supper together.  
  
Her name was Claudia, but Lucius smiled a very bitter smile as he  
introduced them. When they sat at the dinner table, he began to eat  
immediately. His mother nodded at Natalie and said something.  
Before Natalie could try to translate, Lucius answered for her.  
'My mother asks if you come from Britannia, but I denied it.'  
  
'Why?' Natalie asked, very unladylike because she enjoyed the food  
far too much for a prolonged interview.  
  
'Well, my mother would try to talk to you in her own tongue and  
you would not understand Celtic.'  
  
'Your mother is not Roman?' Natalie was surprised.  
  
'Well, what did you expect? Both my mother and I are blond and blue-eyed.   
My father had to marry a woman below his own status because no  
suitable woman of good family would have married a Seianus after what  
my grandfather did. So he married my mother.'  
  
He did not mention that his father, while he was alive, had made  
both their lives pure hell. Lucius could not number the occasions his father had  
used the horse whip on him or his mother without any reason except that they  
were still alive.  
  
He smiled absent-mindedly as he remembered his father's death....  
  
'Well, my mother's real name is Bronagh, which means "sorrow." She is the  
daughter of one of the many so-called kings of Britannia and was brought  
to Rome as a hostage.'  
  
The woman smiled calmly and with great dignity when she heard her son  
pronounce her real name in her ancient Celtic tongue. She reached out for  
Natalie's arm and tried to show her by gestures that she did not  
mind Natalie's apparent barbarian heritage.  
Natalie had already discovered that most of the Romans considered any  
foreigner as inferior, but Lucius' mother was different. She knew the feeling  
far too well.  
  
Lucius grinned at his mother's gesture.  
  
'Natalie, you amaze me! It is not easy for anyone to be liked by my mother.  
I told her that you are a healer. Her folk have great respect for the druids and  
healers, and I suppose that is part of her obvious affection.'  
  
His mother narrowed her eyes and shot something back in her own Celtic  
tongue. Natalie doubted that Lucius was able to understand her....  
Suddenly Natalie saw Bronagh taking a ripe peach and throwing it  
right into her son's face with the broadest and most wicked grin Natalie  
thought possible.  
  
'There, young whelp, that should calm you down!' Bronagh grinned at  
her son. Natalie understood and laughed so hard that tears were running  
down her cheeks.  
  
Lucius just sat there, trying to summon his dignity and looking quite  
baffled. Suddenly he joined their laughter as he wiped the leftovers of the  
peach from his face.  
  
'There, you see. My mother has the most wicked mind in all of Rome.'  
  
Both women, even if they where not able to converse, had found a different  
way to communicate and laughed hysterically.  
  
Between the fits of laughter, Bronagh said something to her son and he  
translated obediently.  
  
'My mother asks you to be a guest in our house. She says that she has not  
laughed that much in 20 years...'  
  
Natalie smiled broadly at the woman. She definitely liked Lucius' mother.  
  
  
***  
  
In the evening, Natalie and Lucius went out. They were visiting again that  
Armenian trader Lucius had told her about. They interviewed him extensively,   
but he knew not much that was of any help.  
  
Natalie sniffed the air. Something was strange. Suddenly Lucius seemed  
alerted.  
  
He opened the window and looked outside. 'Merde. It is too early!!'  
  
Natalie and the trader joined him. They saw that some buildings had started to  
burn, too many buildings for just an accident.  
  
'Oh, my god, Rome is burning...and we are right in the middle of it,' Natalie  
cried, clasping her hands in front of her face to escape from the horrid view.  
  
Lucius grabbed her roughly and dragged her out, leaving behind the whining  
trader who was trying to save his posessions.  
  
'Let's get out of here, quickly. I think the greatest danger is that we get  
trampled to death.'  
  
The chaos in the streets was indescribable. Screaming people and frightened  
children, rich and poor tried to save their lives. Lucius grabbed Natalie and  
held her close so as not to lose her in the crowd.  
  
The flames had surrounded them. Natalie heard the walls bursting under the  
heat of the flames. She ducked some burning timbers and saw people being  
buried under the rubble.  
  
Lucius had an idea. Roughly he shoved some people away and tried to  
open up one of the entrances to the sewers. He grabbed a nearby man and  
shouted at him. 'You there, get the people down the sewers. They lead to the  
Tiber. Move!'  
  
Natalie and Lucius helped a lot of people down into the sewer until they  
were forced to join them, split seconds away from being buried under a  
collapsing wall.  
  
They finally reached one of the many bridges crossing the Tiber and saw their  
way to safety blocked by a group of Praetorian Guards.  
  
Lucius drew in a deep breath and approached the leader of this company.  
'Gaius, let us though!'  
  
His friend looked at him in surprise. What was Lucius doing in this poor  
part of the town? 'We have orders from the emperor himself. He does not  
want the plebeians to get to the palace.'  
  
Lucius' eyes flashed in anger and he grabbed his sword, thankful that he  
was dressed in his Roman armor and not a simple toga.  
  
'You and your men will move away immediately,' he firmly ordered.  
  
But Gaius was in no mood to give in. 'I will not disobey the emperor!'  
  
'But I have no orders and I will make you disobey!'  
Lucius slashed out with his sword and Gaius barely parried.  
'Gaius, let go! I have more experience in fighting than you will  
ever get as a guard of the palace!'  
  
But Gaius obviously felt too humiliated in front of his men and did not stop.  
Both men struggled violently until suddenly Gaius stopped. As  
Lucius' friend stumbled backwards, Natalie saw that Lucius had stabbed him.  
  
Gaius' men watched, stunned. They were uncomfortable with their orders,  
and when the crowed saw their weakness, the mass of people simply broke  
though the line.  
  
Lucius crouched at the floor, his friend in his arms. 'Gaius, I am sorry. I did not want to .....'  
  
Gaius looked up at him and coughed violently. Blood ran from his mouth.   
He tried to speak but was unable to. A short spasm and Gaius went limp.  
  
'Gaius!' Lucius called out for his friend. He held him for another second,  
and Natalie could feel his inner turmoil. Suddenly Lucius stumbled to his feet.  
He stared at Natalie.  
  
'We have to leave, Dr. Lambert. We have to find my sister.' All color had faded from his face.  
  
'Lucius!!!' The young woman flew into his arms.  
  
His sister had already found him. She had been drawn near by the sight  
and had recognized her brother. They embraced each other.  
  
'We cannot stay here, Lydia. The Praetorian Guards will execute me if they  
come to their senses.'  
  
'Come with us, Lucius. I know where you and your friend will find shelter.'  
Lucius allowed his little sister to guide him and Natalie to safety. 


	7. Chapter 7

QUO VADIS, LUCIUS?  
  
by Iejasu  
  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Some time later they were in another building on the opposite end  
of the city. It was the house of an old Roman General, who sympathized with  
new believers. Lydia tried to occupy his mind by talking about her  
friends, their beliefs, their principles, but Lucius hardly listened. He  
followed her without a word.  
  
There was only little space with all those refugees in the house, and so Natalie  
and Lucius were forced to share a room again. He had not spoken a word  
until the death of Gaius, and Natalie certainly did not intend to force him. She  
helped him silently out of his armor and pressed him down onto the cushions.  
  
'Get some sleep, Lucius. You must be exhausted.'  
  
He stared at the ceiling. 'I wish I were. I have the feeling I  
have lived too long. I have seen my friends die as well as my enemies. My  
daughter, Janette, died as a mortal, Nicholas is away and I have no idea of where he  
went. And now I am stuck in this strange dream. Are you a dream, Natalie?  
Are you my dream or am I yours?' He looked at her in the darkness.  
  
She sat next to him and took off her rica.  
'I do not know, Lucius. Maybe we are both dreaming, and everything will fade  
when we wake up.'  
  
He reached for her hand and she allowed it. 'Do you wish this dream to fade away?'  
  
She felt his warm hand upon her own. 'No, Lucius, I don't...'  
He drew her into his arms and kissed her passionately.  
  
Natalie woke up. For a second she was afraid that the dream had ended, but  
then she felt the warm and breathing chest below her cheek. She smiled.  
They had made love more intensely than Natalie had ever thought possible. She  
blushed slightly at the memory.  
  
He sat up in the bed at grinned at her. 'Good morning, Natalie. You look definitely stunning...'  
  
She laughed at his statement, her hair was a mess and she probably had still  
dark spots from the ashes all over her face and body.  
  
'Yeah, yeah... this dream must have ruined your sight, too!' Natalie teased him softly.  
  
'Quite the contrary, my dear. It has enhanced it.' He kissed her hand in adoration.  
  
Natalie blushed again. He definitely had the gift of making a woman feel  
wanted, adored, utterly female. She moved closer, longing to feel his embrace.  
He draw her into his arms again, and their lips joined in the blaze of passion.  
  
***  
  
Lucius let his mother know that they were well but he was staying with  
Natalie and his sister. He was helping the others to clean up the rubble  
while Natalie used her knowledge to treat the many injured.  
  
He had to keep a low profile; someone might have recognized him when he  
had killed Gaius.  
  
'Lucius, you look so distant...' Natalie sat next to him.  
  
'How different things can turn out. I remember this time, but I was at Nero's  
court, indulging myself in pleasure and trying to ensure my career. Gaius had  
introduced me and I did my best to make a 'good' impression. When Rome  
burnt, I was right at the balcony next to Nero, watching the destruction and  
drinking wine.'  
  
'But this time you are on the other side, helping the Christians.'  
  
'Yes, I am...and maybe...maybe I will be able to save my sister... this time.'  
  
'You did not know that she was involved with Christians?' Natalie inquired softly.  
  
'No, I did not. I was too occupied with my own career to acknowledge  
anything besides what I wanted until it was too late, until I saw her burning on  
the cross.'  
  
Natalie drew closer to him. 'I am sorry, Lucius.'  
  
***  
  
  
'Lucius Seianus, I wanted to thank you for all you have done. Without your  
help, a lot of innocent people would have died.'  
  
Lucius turned and looked at the old man.  
  
'I did nothing for you. I did this for Natalie and my sister. I am not interested  
in your strange religion.' He sneered at Petrus.  
  
'Still you love her and through your love, you might encounter a greater love.'  
  
'I care nothing for your "god".' Lucius tried to turn away, but the old man  
held him, but suddenly let him go, as if the touch had burned his fingers.  
  
'Lucius, great darkness surrounds you. But even if you deny God, God does  
not abandon you.'  
  
Lucius glared at him. 'Your almighty god has brought nothing but pain and  
suffering upon my family and my children. I will fight him for as long as I  
exist, even if I might not win. But I will survive, and I will fight again.'  
He would have had fully vamped out if he would have still been in possession  
of his vampiric nature.  
  
***  
  
  
'The speakers at the corners declare that it was not Nero that burned Rome,  
but the Christians.' His voice was dry.  
  
'What?' Natalie could not believe her ears.  
  
'Well, Nero needs a scapegoat. With this statement he can get rid of the  
Christians and regain the sympathy of the Romans.' He knew this would  
happen. He himself had had the idea and had whispered it into  
Nero's ear. He wondered who had done this task in this world. Maybe Nero had  
accomplished it himself. His mind was surely twisted enough.  
  
Suddenly Praetorian Guards were entering the small yard.  
  
'There he is, the murderer of our Captain. He is with those Christians!'  
Lucius realized that someone had denounced him.  
  
  
***  
  
'A Roman Legatus in conspiracy with the Christians. What shame to the  
Roman public and the state.' The senator stared at Lucius with disgust.  
'Are you a Christian?' The judge looked at Lucius Seianus.  
  
'No, I am not a Christian and I will never be one, but I am not a traitor. You  
are a traitor to Rome and her citizens because you know that these people are  
innocent, yet you condemn them to die the death of traitors.'  
Lucius was roaring in anger.  
  
He and every Christian nearby had been caught and jailed. He knew what  
would happen. He knew that there was nothing he could do. For the first time,  
he felt helpless, utterly and totally helpless. It was a feeling  
he did not enjoy.  
  
'I am a citizen of Rome and it is my right to demand "PROVOCATIO"!'  
  
'You are a traitor to the emperor and Rome. Your rights as a citizen are  
therefore denied.' Lucius felt the urge to slam his fist into the  
judge's face, but his wrists were bound.  
  
'That is not possible. None can deny those!' Lucius argued violently.  
  
'Nero has proclaimed that his divine person is above the law, and he has  
announced that traitors lose their rights as citizens of Rome.'  
  
Lucius stood erect and proud. He denied giving in to fear and desperation.  
'THAT IS AGAINST THE LAW!'  
  
'Nero is the law and we are his subjects.'  
  
'Nero corrupts Rome and Roman Law! We were the leaders of the world and  
now we allow vile tyrants to rule us. I am ashamed to be Roman!'  
  
They dragged him out.... 


	8. Chapter 8

QUO VADIS, LUCIUS?  
  
by Iejasu  
  
Chapter 8  
  
The cell was crowded with sobbing and shivering people. Even Christians felt fear,  
Lucius observed calmly. But he did not mention it to Natalie and Lydia, both in the same  
cell, sitting next to him. He looked at the tangled hair of his  
little sister, her slim form leaning on his shoulder for protection.  
  
'Lucius, I am afraid.'  
  
Lucius realized that he had not really tried to save her. He had not succeeded in removing  
her from those Christians. Instead he had become involved. Still, for the first time in  
millennia, he did not feel guilt; he felt almost at peace.  
  
'Don't be, little sister. Whatever the future holds for you, you will cope with it.'  
  
'Will it hurt?'  
  
He sighed. No, it would not hurt. He knew too much about the different stages of mortal  
death to know that. Adrenaline and other hormones, that made the  
blood of mortals so sweet in the moment they died, would sweep the blood circuit and  
would take away pain and fear.  
  
'No, Lydia. You have seen the others of your brothers and sisters die. Death is an angel  
who brings relief and peace.'  
  
'Lucius, will our dream die tomorrow?' Natalie caressed his chest in an effort to calm  
herself and to ensure that he was indeed with her.  
  
He looked at Natalie.  
  
'I don't know, my dear.' He caressed her hair, kissing her forehead. 'I love you and if this  
is reality or just a dream, it does no longer matter. I love you in this world, I will love you  
in the other world. If in death or in life, in the thereafter or  
in the 20th century, we belong to each other.'  
  
She held him close and sobbed into his toga. He drew both women closer into his  
embrace. His sister and his lover, the most important women in his life.  
  
After a while, Natalie calmed down and looked up at him.  
  
'I want to marry you, Lucius. I want Petrus to marry us.'  
  
He looked at her, thinking. It took him a while to answer.   
'Thus shall it be, Natalie,' Lucius whispered into her ear and  
brushed her earlobe softly with his lips.  
  
He got up and went to Petrus.  
  
'Marry us, Petrus. My wife and I want to be together in this world and in the next.'  
  
He did not mention that he was unsure what the next world would mean--the future or the  
realms of the underworld, or the strange paradise the Christians preached?  
  
"This is a holy matter, Lucius. May the one who blessed the couple in Canaan also bless  
your bonding....' He lifted his hands to bless the young couple.  
'LUCIE! VIS ACCIPERE NATALIAM HIC PRESENTEM IN TUAM LIGITIMUM MARITUM, IUS  
ROMANA SANCTE MATRIS ECCLESIA..?  
  
Lucius knelt down and bowed his head. "Volo".  
  
The old man nodded and turned towards the kneeling Natalie.  
"NATALIA! VIS ACCIPERE LUCIUM HIC PRESENTEM IN TUAM LIGITIMAM UXOREM, IUS  
ROMANA SANCTE MATIS ECCLESIA..."   
  
'Volo.'  
  
Petrus smiled as he continued, 'EGO CONIUGO VOS IN MATRIMONIUM.'  
  
  
Natalie looked at Lucius, and he took her into his arms and kissed  
her. She held tight, trying to hold onto this moment even if it  
would be the last good memory in her life.  
  
***  
  
  
The Praetorians entered the cell and grabbed the sleeping Lucius,  
tearing him away from his wife and his sister. "FAC EXPERGISCARIS!"  
  
  
One of the guards slapped him into the face.  
  
'You will suffer for your murder of Gaius. A man who kills his friends is lower than any  
traitor. You will beg us for death before we are finished with you!'  
He recognized the man for one that had joined him and Gaius on  
their nightly roams though the taverns.  
  
'A man who puts his career above his conscience is lower than dust!' he shot back and  
gained a hefty blow for this answer.  
  
'You are a Seianus--the Seianus have traitorous blood. But we will wipe this blood from  
the surface of the world.'  
  
Lucius fought wildly but had no chance as they dragged him away.  
  
***  
  
He looked around, shocked. This was not the circus, but he knew  
this place. Where was he? Suddenly he realized they were the gardens of the palace.  
  
A woman was nailed to the cross.... she screamed in pain.  
  
Lucius was dragged along long rows of dying people. Some had lost their last dignity and  
dirtied themselves. Soft moans and silent prayers filled the air, interrupted by teasing and  
laughing Praetorians.  
  
Strangely detached, he watched as they brought him to a cross and forced him to lay  
down. They did not put nails to his wrists, but simply bound him. The weight of this  
position would slowly tear the muscles and crush his heart.  
  
He grinned. To die this death was quite amusing. He, a vampire,  
would die at the cross. What wonderful irony.  
  
He looked straight, ignoring the laughter and the remarks of the Praetorians.  
  
Suddenly he saw the face of the woman opposite to him.  
  
'Mother.' No, this cold not be true, his mother had lived. She did not die such a death!!!  
  
'That barbarian bitch you call mother is dying for giving birth to a traitor and a  
murderer!' The Praetorians roared with laughter.  
  
Lucius looked at his mother, begging her for forgiveness with his eyes.  
  
Suddenly a younger guard approached her, gripping his mother's feet, pulling roughly.  
Lucius heard the crack and knew that her ribcage had ruptured, that she was finally  
released. He looked at the young Praetorian who did that and found two young eyes that  
calmly nodded. He had a friend within those Praetorians, a friend  
that allowed his mother to die quickly. The captain slapped him and called him a  
sentimental weakling but was unable to change what had already happened.  
  
***  
  
'My mother's name was sorrow and I brought it upon her....' Lucius moaned at the  
thought. He felt dizzy. His lips were dry and cracking. His chest burned and he knew  
that his bones slowly gave in.  
  
The Praetorians came back. Lucius had to fight opening his eyes, but he succeeded.  
  
They brought with them Lydia and Natalie. Natalie fought her captors and ran to  
Lucius. 'Lucius...please, please...' He felt her tears.  
  
The guard pulled her into a rough embrace and fondled her roughly in front of Lucius.  
He grinned up at Lucius. 'Your whores will be sold to a brothel. They are far too tasty to  
end up at the circus. They will service our men by the dozens until they don't mind what  
they service, a horse or a man.'  
  
'Natalie, I will not die! I will NOT die!' He started to roar. He fought death, he tried to  
free himself which was quite impossible.  
  
Still, his frenzy made the guard stop, shocked that any being wasstill capable of fighting  
death at this stage. Lucius face was twisted in anger, his wrists bleeding, blood on his  
lips where the soft skin had cracked. The guards stepped back. For a second, they feared  
this madman would free himself.  
  
Lucius lifted his head and roared at the sky. 'You god, you have no right to kill my sister and my wife!!! I do  
not care what you do to me or if I burn...but for once don't be my enemy...give me back  
my strength, let me save their lives.' He screamed, he yelled at this strange god. He felt  
hatred at this god who condemned his followers to a horrible death. He was the worse  
than any emperor, worse than Nero. 'Give me back my strength!!!!'  
  
Suddenly his heart stopped, his bones became cold and hollow. Hiswhole form became  
limp.  
  
Natalie cried out. The wrestling had ruptured his heart.'Lucius!!!' Tears ran from her face. She touched his feet but  
they felt so cold.The Praetorians laughed and dragged her away from her husband to  
a guardhouse.  
  
Both women huddled together, watching the guards looking at themwith dirty grins and  
lusting glances.  
  
'Well, you little Christian whores, it will be interesting whether or not you start praying  
when we take you, when the whole garrison takes you... Will youbless us, little  
Christian?' The guard laughed out loud.  
  
He moved closer...Natalie could smell wine in his breath. She tried to protect the  
younger Lydia by covering her with her own body, shielding herfrom those prying eyes.  
  
Suddenly a hand grabbed the guard and broke his neck. 'You will not touch them!'  
  
The guards screamed in horror. They had seen him die! There stood a demon, his form  
smoldering in a cool fire, his fangs dripping from blood and eyes glowing...  
  
Lydia screamed. That demon had the face of her brother but it was twisted, full with the  
hatred he had felt the second he had died.  
  
He grabbed another guard and turned his neck to reach the artery. She saw him tearing  
the throat of this guard like a raging animal and drinking his blood.  
  
Natalie had seen Nick drinking blood but never in this way. Never without any  
decency...this was nothing more than a wild beast, a raging fury from hell.  
  
The other guards fought their shock and tried to fight this demon, but he defended his  
prey and the woman witnessed as he broke bones and slashed throats with the skill and  
the rage of a wild tiger, roaring in anger and pain for the sun  
had not settled and he was not fully shielded from her burning rays.  
  
Looking at the women, some of the old Lucius came back into the beast.  
  
'Natalie, take Lydia and run...' he growled.  
  
Natalie regained some composure and grabbed little Lydia, heading for the door.  
Shocked, she realized that the crosses blocked his way everywhere. The sun was still up  
and the crosses everywhere in the garden. There was no way for a vampire to flee.  
  
Suddenly she felt eyes upon her. She looked up and saw a man hanging upside down  
from a cross. It took her a while to recognize that red, bloated face as Petrus'.  
  
'He is darkness, but he is also the light, the light of the cross... do not fear for him.' The  
old man uttered with a hoarse whisper, closing his eyes again.  
  
Natalie sobbed and fell to her knees. Between her fingers, half blinded by her own tears,  
she saw Lucius. He tried to follow them, but his skin started to smolder, his face twisted  
in pain at the presence of the crosses.... He started to combust.  
  
'Lucius!!!!' Natalie lost consciousness..... 


	9. Chapter 9

QUO VADIS, LUCIUS?  
  
by Iejasu  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Natalie woke up and stared at the cold light at the ceiling.  
The walls were white, and she heard faint noises in the distance.  
Suddenly a face was above her. An unfamiliar face.  
  
'Ah, Dr. Lambert. You have finally pulled though. We worried greatly.'  
  
It was English!  
  
She gulped and looked at the nurse. 'Could I have some water,  
please?' Natalie barely managed to ask. The nurse nodded and   
went away to call the doctor and to get her some water.  
  
The dream was over. Natalie felt tears in her eyes. This was not  
fair. Lucius was left behind in .... No, it was only a dream. Lucius never  
existed. Still, why did she think of him, his kindness, the way he touched her?   
All these things brought tears to her eyes. Why did her heart ache with every  
beat? No, it was a dream. Lucius was a dream, her marriage had been a fantasy.  
Lucien Lacroix lived, but he was the same old and mean bastard everyone feared,  
even his own kind.  
  
She turned towards the wall and let her tears run freely, where  
nobody would see them.  
  
  
***  
  
'Natalie!!!' He shot up and looked around frantically.  
But his eyes found nothing apart from cold, empty cushions. His  
sight fell upon his alarm clock. It took him minutes to recover from this  
sight.  
  
He closed his eyes again, and forced himself to face reality.   
Everything had only been a strange nightmare. A pleasant dream of a   
life in the sunlight that tortured a creature of the night, such as he.  
A shiver went down his spine. He remembered his 'death'.  
Everything had been so real. But he forced himself to review the  
good memories. Natalie's touch, her hands that caressed him while they  
made love. It had all been so real. For a second he wished he could close  
his eyes again, feeling her body next to him, whispering into his ear sweet  
nonsense. But the clock kept ticking and mocked him with the sound.  
  
'Thus called the Raven.... Nevermore....' he quoted Poe and  
forced himselfto get up and into the shower.  
  
The warm water washed the bloodsweat away that covered his body  
and somehow cleared his senses, but bitterness still swept over him  
like the water. Why dream of paradise only to lose it? Could he ever face  
Natalie again without betraying what he felt for her? He had to. She would  
laugh into his face and he would end up as a complete and utter fool. None made  
a fool out of Lacroix. None!  
  
  
He called the hospital and quietly inquired about the health of  
the patient delivered last night. She had woken up a few hours ago. Good. So  
Natalie would survive Nicholas' stupid attack. That was at least  
something.  
  
***  
  
Weeks passed by, and even though Lacroix kept informed about Dr.  
Lambert's well-being, he never visited her nor let her know about  
his interest in her health. And after a while it all seemed nothing more than  
a strange dream, slowly fading like dew in the light of dawn.  
  
The patrons in the Raven avoided him. Lacroix was worse than  
ever. He was practically always in a bad mood. Probably because Nicholas had  
vanished and Lacroix was unable to trace him. These things tended to turn  
Lacroix into a living nuclear facility, highly dangerous and very poisonous.  
  
  
Lacroix sat at the bar and drank a glass of house special as the  
door opened and Natalie Lambert entered the crowded nightclub.  
He tried not to stare at her, but to keep his indifferent  
attitude.  
  
She saw him and walked straight up to the ancient vampire.  
'Lacroix, I need to talk to you.' Her voice was businesslike.  
  
'My dear Dr. Lambert. To what charming accident do I owe the pleasure of  
your company?' he inquired softly in his best Nightcrawler voice.  
  
Natalie gulped. That was not Lucius. This was that damn bastard called  
Lucien Lacroix, she reminded herself.  
  
'You may dispense with your pleasantries, Lacroix. I only want to know if  
Nick has shown up lately.'  
  
'That, my dear doctor, is something I have to answer in the negative,' Lacroix  
purred and took another sip of bloodwine. 'Nicholas should be considered as  
an adult and is therefore entitled to his privacy.' he added with an even voice.  
  
'Since when do you allow Nick his own life?' Natalie barked when the  
adrenaline hit her. Lately she lost her temper quite easily. Abruptly the young  
coroner turned around and was about to walk out as briskly as she had  
entered the nightclub. Lacroix saw her stumble and instinctively grabbed her arm,  
supporting her, but he remained his cold features on the outside.  
  
'I presume you are not well?' he inquired softly as he held her for a moment.  
  
'Nothing that should kill me.....so there is no reason for you to rejoice,' she  
answered acidly and wrestled free.  
  
'Aww, my dear Dr. Lambert, I think you misjudge me,' he teased her and  
wondered how easily he fell back into his normal attitude.  
  
Natalie glanced at him for a split second. She felt so lonely. She missed him.  
But when she saw those cold eyes, she reminded herself that the person she  
missed never existed.  
  
The last weeks, Natalie had fought with her feelings. She was confused and  
her current state did not seem to enhance her stability. She felt weak. She felt  
angry. Angry at Nicholas for what he had done to her, angry at  
herself for being unable to forget a strange dream.  
  
'Well, Lacroix, if Nicholas shows up, tell him I need to talk to him. Urgently.'  
  
'I will inform Nicholas,' Lacroix replied as he guided her towards the exit.  
He quickly scanned her, but the noise in the Raven and the many other  
vampires interfered with his probing. Something was wrong with  
Natalie, but he could not quite put his finger on it.  
  
'May I inquire about the nature of the message?'  
  
'No, Lacroix, you may not. It is none of your business. This is just between  
Nick and me.' Her eyes looked at him with an expression he found difficult  
to read.  
  
Lacroix tried to remain calm.  
  
'You will tell me if he shows up?'  
  
'Indeed, Dr. Lambert,' Lacroix stated flatly. There was no love lost between  
Nicholas' coroner and Lucien Lacroix, he acknowledged.  
'I will see that you are returned home safely, Dr. Lambert,' he offered.  
  
'No, thank you, Lacroix. I am not an idiot,' she hissed.  
Natalie had quite enough of vampires for the rest of her life.  
  
Lacroix watched her walking out of the Raven.  
  
***  
  
Outside the Raven, Natalie sobbed uncontrollably. She was so terrible angry, it  
was constricting her throat. She did not know what to feel. She recalled the  
doctor she had visited this morning because of her strange  
condition, the surges of sickness in the mornings, the shivers, the mental  
instability.  
  
Already she had taken blood samples of herself, worried that she was  
somehow infected by the virus that turned mortals into vampires.  
But the examination of her blood showed that it was untainted.  
  
Doctor Walters had examined her and approached her with a broad smile.  
  
'Natalie, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. You are in  
perfect health.'  
  
'Hardly so, Richard. I am sick, I feel strange.'  
  
'Well, you might be a coroner, but you are not so versed with the living. Go  
home and rest. Everything is fine. But come to me at least once a month so I  
can check on you.'  
  
'So something is wrong,' Natalie stated flatly.  
  
'Everything is fine, as I said. But we have to ensure it stays this way with your baby.'  
  
Dr. Lambert stared at him, unable to trust her ears. 'What?'  
  
'You are pregnant, Natalie.'  
  
  
END ?  
  
No, not really! Watch out for the sequel "I have dreamt...." 


	10. Appendix

Appendix:  
  
  
(Some explanations and translations for the story)  
  
'POST NUBILA DIANA!': after the clouds comes Diana ( after darkness  
comes the goddess ) originally : post nubila Phoebus but I disliked Phoebus   
( the sun ) because it looked so male... so I exchanged it for a goddess.  
  
'QUOD LICET IOVI, NON LICET BOVI!' = What is allowed to Jupiter is not appropriate   
for any ox. i.e. flirting with Natalie sitting on the wagon   
  
'QUID NOVI, NATALIE?' = What's up, Natalie? or What's new, Natalie?  
  
'PATER NOSTER QUI IN CAELIS ES SANCTIFICETUR NOMEN TUUM.  
VENIAT REGNUM TUUM FIAT VOLUNTAS TUA SICUT IN CAELO ET IN TERRA.  
PANEM NOSTRUM SUPERSUBSTANTIALEM DA NOBIS HODIE ET DIMITTE NOBIS   
DEBITA NOSTRA SICUT ET NOS DIMIDUS DEBITORIBUS NOSTRIS ET NE INDUCAS NOS   
IN TEMPTATIONEM SED LIBERA NOS A MALO.. '= This is the 'our father in  
heaven...' prayer but I don't know what you call this in English.  
  
'LUCIE! VIS ACCIPERE NATALIAM HIC PRESENTEM IN TUAM LIGITIMUM MARITUM, IUS  
ROMANA SANCTE MATRIS ECCLESIA..?  
He he :) don't wonder that Lucius is called Lucie...in Latin they have a   
special form of calling ( i.e. Vocative ) and that has different endings   
...so Lucius ends up being Lucie...which must look weird to English readers...  
Lucius! Do you accept the here present Natalie in rightful marriage after   
the right of Rome and the holy mother church...I think...well, I asked a   
friend to help me with the Latin. The text for Natalie is basically the   
same only they have a different word for marriage for a woman then for a   
man.... men has 'maritum' but the women has uxorem.  
  
VOLO means : I want. Latin has not really a yes or no, more I want, or I want not....  
  
'EGO CONIUGO VOS IN MATRIMONIUM. I bind you in marriage.  
  
"FAC EXPERGISCARIS!" basically 'Come on!!! Get up !!!!'  
  
In the time of the Roman Republic Roman citizens had two basic rights one was   
called 'PROVOCATIO' and the other was 'SUFFRAGITUM'.  
PROVOCATIO is the right that someone could appeal against a sentence and go   
to a kind of higher court to have his sentence checked (a public meeting)  
...very much like the law today...SUFFRAGITUM was the right to vote.   
  
RICA is a head scarf 


End file.
